Cancer deaths at lowest rate on record

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Cancer death rates in NSW have fallen to their lowest levels since the 1970s, in an improvement the Cancer Council said was likely to be echoed around the nation.

The death rate for cancer in the state fell 17 per cent for men and 11 per cent for women in the past decade, said Cancer Council chief Dr Andrew Penman.

That decline pushed cancer death rates for both men and women to their lowest level since records began in the 1970s.

"The picture would be broadly comparable across the country," Dr Penman said at the launch of the Cancer Council's latest report today.

"There are differences in individual cancers such as melanoma, which is more common in the north than in the south, and AIDS-related cancers, which are more common where the epidemic is concentrated, but for the most part it's a common experience throughout Australia."

The Cancer Council's report - Cancer in NSW Incidence and Mortality 2002 - revealed the death rate for melanoma and cancers of the pancreas, lung, cervix, prostate and breast had all fallen since 1993.

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The sharpest fall was in the rate of deaths from cervical cancer, which declined by six per cent over the decade - a change Dr Penman attributed to better screening through Pap smears.

By contrast, the rate of death caused by liver cancer, mesothelioma and testicular cancer all increased, as did the rate of deaths caused by thyroid cancer in women.

"The rise could be attributed to a declining intake of iodine in the community with falling levels of iodine in milk and less use of salt, including iodised salt," Dr Penman said.

Although death rates have fallen, the number of new cancer cases diagnosed rose by seven per cent for women in the past decade and fell by seven per cent for men.

More women continue to be diagnosed with smoking-related cancers but overall, men are more likely than women to die of cancer.

Men aged over 65 years have double the risk of dying from cancer than women of the same age, the report found.

"Men do tend to lead riskier lifestyles than women and we are concerned that they are delaying health checks for symptoms of cancers such as melanoma, which are highly treatable if detected early," Dr Penman said.